We had the chance to visit Ormoc City recently and had a quick tour around some of its not-oftentimes seen points of interests.

Among the sites visited: the Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF) in Tongonan – the world’s largest wet steamfield – now owned and managed by the Energy Development Corporation of the Lopezes; Lake Danao National Park, and the Sabin Larrazabal Pineapple Plantation.

Here’s a quick rolling tour of Ormoc City showing some early morning street scenes and night scenes on a fine, generally nondescript day…

Sunrise at Sabin Hotel

A fastcraft on an early morning trip to Cebu City

The streets are still empty at 6 in the morning…

Tractors troop to the farm…

The view from high up in the mountains showing Ormoc City and Ormoc Bay

The Leyte Geothermal Production Field (LGPF) in Tongonan – providing electricity power to consumers all over the country

I was nursing my first cup of coffee for the day (it will number anywhere from 4 to 8 cups) at our house balcony early this morning when I was startled by what sounded like bickering birds, feasting over ripe chico fruits meters away.

I hurriedly got my camera and ever so quietly tried to slip back nonchalantly to my coffee and smoke, trying my best to appear unmindful of the birds at all. See, I’m enjoying my coffee! Go eat your breakfast! was what I tried to project to the birds.

After getting used to my presence, they went back at it and I very slowly took aim and fired away.

It was a pleasant morning surprise, a great way to start a brand new day!

Asian Glossy Starling is what these birds are called, thanks to Mark Wallbank, a birder. The ones with zebra-like stripes of black and white are immature; those in glossy black are the mature ones.